Thinktank analysis says proposed ‘earned settlement’ changes could trap families in prolonged insecurity
More than 300,000 children already living in the UK could be forced to wait 10 years for settled status under proposed changes to the Home Office’s “earned settlement” policy, according to an analysis by a centre left thinktank.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that nearly a quarter (23%) of the 1.35 million people already on routes to settlement are children, most of them dependants on their families’ work visas.
The findings come as Shabana Mahmood faces opposition from Labour MPs over changes to permanent settlement rights.
Ministers want to double the time it takes most migrant workers to qualify for permanent residence from five years to 10 years.
